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Meet Allegra Galvin (British; 2013-2016 ISPA Fellow)

Meet Allegra Galvin, Director of Folkestone Quarterhouse in Kent, United Kingdom. Folkestone Quarterhouse is an arts center connected to Creative Foundation, a culture-led regeneration charity dedicated to the community of Folkestone, Kent. Of the art center’s many programs, Allegra highlighted a series of festivals programmed by the community itself through open meetings – aligned with her particular “interest in how we give audiences agency over cultural buildings.”

Allegra’s favorite part about working in the field is that that she “can be a creator, an enabler and a consumer of culture.” She expressed “It makes for a rich, interesting life. And you can’t ask for more than that. Actually I would ask for more time!”

When asked about what she hopes to contribute to the field in her career, Allegra explained “most communities have a space for culture – whether it’s a theatre, a concert hall, an arts center or the local village or school hall. I want those buildings to be spaces where everyone feels welcome. Spaces that are for communities to gather together – to experience and to contribute to their culture. I think the US and UK have a lot to learn in this area from countries like Brazil, where ‘culture’ is taken as a broader term and shared in by a broader demographic.”

Allegra has been an ISPA Fellow since 2013, thanks to the support of Arts Council England. When asked about her impression of her first ISPA Congress, Allegra recalled “My first impression was… here is an international community of people who love what I love! I felt that the ISPA community was actively seeking to include me in the conversation – from the main debates to chats over coffee.”

In 2015, ISPA brought 52 Fellows from around the world to the New York Congress. We know it’s impossible to meet all these emerging leaders onsite so we’re highlighting 2015 ISPA Fellows in features via the member-only monthly newsletterNetworkand the website.